Resumen

Background: Smoking prevalence is higher among psychiatric patients than general population. However, some investigations suggest there is a significant association between smoking and mental disorder in people without having a definite diagnosis for mental disorder dwelling in communities. Aim: To examine the association between nicotine regular use and anxiety and depressive symptoms in general population in the City of Bucaramanga, Colombia. Methods: A representative sample of 1180 persons, 11 years of age and older, was studied. We defined smokers, those who smoke everyday during last month. Zung ’s scales for anxiety and depression were applied for rating anxious and depressive symptoms. Confounding was controlled by binomial regression. Results: Smoking prevalence was 18.1%. We observed a statistical association after controlling confounders between smoking and clinically important depressive symptoms (PR 1.69,CI 95%1.32-2.17). However, we did not find any association between smoking and anxious symptoms. Conclusion: Smoking may be a symptom of depressive disorder in this population. Further investigations are needed about causal relation between smoking and depression. [Campo-Arias A, Díaz LA,Ruega GE.Anxiety and depressive symptoms among smokers: a population study. MedUNAB 2004;7:4-8]

Palabras clave: Smoking prevalence anxiety depression general population.

2004-05-24   |   1,048 visitas   |   1 valoraciones

Vol. 7 Núm.19. Abril 2004 Pags. 4-8 MedUNAB 2004; 7(19)